How Michigan State basketball beat Mississippi State and what it means

The team played two complete halves

Other than the back-to-back-to-back-to-back turnovers in the middle of the first half, the Spartans played consistently great basketball.

One gripe by the fanbase (me included) is the slow starts by the team, but not on Thursday. At the 10-minute mark, Michigan State had 20 points, second-most since the Iowa game and double what they had against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament.

Those four straight turnovers look a lot worse when you have seven points and are down four at the midway point of the first half.

Any time there was even a hint of a Mississippi State run, the Spartans answered in big ways, whether it was a Jaden Akins 3-pointer or a tough defensive stand. The Bulldogs never scored more than five consecutive points, and once the Spartans got up by eight points, that was the closest the game ever got going forward.

It's always a joke that his team is a tale of two halves, but the Spartans fired on all cylinders for about 38 minutes.